Brown, P. G. (2013, January). The university in the age of web 2.0: A value proposition. Presentation at the Dalton Institute on College Student Values, Tallahassee, FL.

1. The University
in the Age of
Web 2.0:
A Value Proposition
Dalton Institute on College
Student Values
2013.01.31
Tallahassee, FL

3. #HEfuture
#dalton13
@paulgordonbrown

4. I WANT TO STUDY
NOT ONLY WHAT
THE COMPUTER IS
DOING FOR US, BUT
WHAT IT IS DOING
TO US.- Sherry Turkle

5. Universities must change
the way they operate to
survive and remain relevant.

6. This
argument
rests on
2 premises

7. Premise
1

8. social media &
web 2.0
represent a
REV OLUTION
(a tipping point for radical
organizational change)

9. Premise
2

10. Universities are
inherently
MODERNIST
institutions
and are ill-equipped to
respond to this revolution.

11. Social media and Web 2.0 technologies
1 have pushed us to a tipping point for
massive organizational change.
Universities are ill-equipped and at an
2 organizational disadvantage to respond to
this change.
THEREFORE
Universities must change the way they
operate to survive and remain relevant.

12. Understanding
the university

13. Understanding
Web 2.0

14. Web 1.0
STATIC WEBPAGES

15. a click
here

16. takes you
there

17. this guy
Tim O’Reilly
I coined
the term
Web 2.0

18. The term "Web 2.0" (2004–present) is
commonly associated with web
applications that facilitate interactive
information sharing, interoperability,
user-centered design, and collaboration
on the World Wide Web. Examples of Web
2.0 include web-based communities,
hosted services, web applications,
social-networking sites, video-sharing
sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, and
folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its
users to interact with other users or to
change website content, in contrast to
non-interactive websites where users are
limited to the passive viewing of
information that is provided to them.

19. In explaining this
I’d like to use
3 metaphorsfor what
universities
have
lost

20. WE’VE LOST THE
SHELF
BULLETIN BOARD
BLACKBOARD

21. The Shelf

22. Knowledge
used to be
tied up in
books

23. and the university was the
sole provider and keeper
of this knowledge

24. Going digital
changed this.
The Web
changed this.

25. 1996

26. Yahoo, faced with
the possibility that
they could organize
things with no
physical
constraints, added
the shelf back.
- Clay Shirky

27. 2013

28. We no longer need a curator.
We can search for
anything and
everything.

29. The university lost
control of
The Shelf
Being the exclusive
source for knowledge

30. WE’VE LOST THE
SHELF
BULLETIN BOARD
BLACKBOARD

31. The Bulletin Board

32. Previously, the university
could control communication
through the limited means
available.
It was a funnel...

33. it could control
its message.

34. In the digital age
this control is no
longer possible.

35. Social media has exploded.
Communication
methods are
ubiquitous and
ever-present.

36. There is a higher
SIGNAL to NOISE
RATIO

37. The university lost
control of
The Bulletin
Board
The ability to
communicate to a
captive audience

38. WE’VE LOST THE
SHELF
BULLETIN BOARD
BLACKBOARD

39. The Blackboard

40. With the blackboard...
The learning
is up here!

41. Lectures are
common

42. Structures divide the
student and the teacher

43. Social media breaks
down these barriers

44. Diverse
learners and
diverse
learning styles
are welcome...
and celebrated

45. learning becomes a
co-constructed experience.

46. The university lost
control of
The Blackboard
The ability to rely on old
methods of instruction
and ignore multiple
learning styles.

47. WE’VE LOST THE
SHELF
BULLETIN BOARD
BLACKBOARD

48. So what is the
way forward
for the
university?

49. a few articles have been written...

50. Why College Is Still Relevant in the Age of
Free Information
by Hansoo Lee
January 06, 2012
1. The Network
2. Direct Professional Development
3. Personal Development
4. Brand

51. Open Educational Resources and
the Role of the University
by Anka Mulder, Volume 46, Number 5, September/October 2011
The University as a...
Content Provider
Learning Community
Certification Body

52. in order to remain relevant
I believe
universities must...

53. Focus on
holism...

54. a seamless blend of
personal development
and cognitive growth

55. requiring
faculty and student affairs
collaborations

56. creating
co-constructed
Learning partnerships
guided internships...
immersive study abroad experiences...
living learning communities...
service learning...
Dr. Marcia Baxter-Magolda

57. For the
university, the
best defense
against the
network is for
the university
to become a
network itself.

58. Social media and Web 2.0 technologies
1 have pushed us to a tipping point for
massive organizational change.
Universities are ill-equipped and at an
2 organizational disadvantage to respond to
this change.
THEREFORE
Universities must change the way they
operate to survive and remain relevant.

59. digitally archived at